Elevator door guide



Sept. 24, 1935. R L HENRY 2,015,269

ELEVATOR DOOR GUIDE Filed Feb. 11, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTORNEY Sept. 24, 1935. R HENRY I I 2,015,269

ELEVATOR DOOR GUIDE Filed Feb. 11, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 1 [III I u..." lIIII/I/l/I/llllllI/l III/ 1] ,v,

Zj'g 7 49 INVENTOR 9 By 1701;]; L (761 134 ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 24, 1935 PATENT OFFICE ELEVATOR DOOR GUIDE Ralph L. Henry, Detroit, Mich, assignor to Henrite Products Corporation, Ironton, Ohio, a

corporation of Ohio Application February 11, 1931, Serial No. 515,034 4 Claims. (01. 1s-9s This invention relates, generally, to elevators; and the invention has reference, more particularly, to a novel form of guide for use on elevator doors such as hatchway doors or car doors.

As an elevator car travels up and down a hatchway, its movement creates a region of increased pressure. ahead of the car and a region of reduced pressure behind the car. These variations in pressure, created by the movement of the car, cause elevator doors such as hatchway doors and car doors to rattle or vibrate, which rattling is very disturbing and objectionable especially in buildings having high speed elevators. Elevator doors as at present constructed, merely employ metal guide shoes which ride in guide grooves provided in the metal threshold plates of floor landings and elevator cars. The metal to metal contact of the guide shoes with the sides of the guide grooves, and especially the inherent looseness of the guide shoes within the guide grooves of the threshold plates tends to greatly increase the rattling noises.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a novel elevator door guide which is adapted to be readily applied to elevator doors, such as car and hatchway doors, and which acts to eliminate rattle or other noise of the doors normally caused by movement of the car within the'hatchway.

Another object of the present invention lies in the provision of a novel elevator door guide which is non-metallicand is self-lubricating, the same being so constructed and arranged as to automatically take up any looseness or wear and to thereby prevent any looseness between the guide and the guide groove within which it moves.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a novel elevator door guide com.- prising two pivotally mounted shoes which are adapted to be attached to an elevator door by the screws now used for holding the common metal door guide to the'elevator door, the said shoes having spring means interposed therebeguide shoes of this invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the bottom portion of an elevator door and illustrates the novel guide shoes of this invention attached thereto.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view of a 5 portion of the car threshold plate structure shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken substantially along line 44 of Fig. 3 looking in the direction of the arrows. 10

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a slightly modified form of guide.

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 4 but illustrates the use of the modified construction shown in Fig. 5;

Fig. '7 is an enlarged sectional view taken substantially along line of Fig. 6 showing also the bottom portion of the door; and

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of a somewhat modified form of the invention.

Similar characters of reference are employed in all .of the above described views to indicate corresponding parts.

Referring now to Figs. 1 and 2 of the said drawings, the reference numeral l designates an ele- 25 vator car which is movable within the hatchway 2. The doors 3 and 3 of the car i and hatchway Z are illustrated as equipped with the novel guides of this invention, which guides are designated as a whole by the reference numeral 5. The guides 30 5 are secured to the bottoms of the doors 3 and 3 and project into suitable guide grooves 4 provided in the threshold plate of the elevator car and in the threshold plate or sill of the hatchway landings. In Fig. 3, the threshold plate 6 is 35 illustrated as of the self-cleaning type and has guide bars I which are engaged by the door guides 5. As especially shown in Figs. 2 and 4, each of the door guides 5 comprises two similar and oppositely disposed swivel guide shoes 8 which 4.0 are pivotally mounted on vertical screws 9 threaded into the bottoms of the doors 3 and 3'. Screws 9 may be the same screws ordinarily used to hold a metal guide plate to an elevator door and may be inserted into the same holes provided 45 1 in the door bottom for holding the metal guide plate.

Guide shoes 8 are preferably made of molded material having self-lubricating properties. It

has been found in practice that a molded mate- 'rial consisting of asbestos, graphite and a condensation product, such as bakelite, serves very well for this purpose. The asbestos ingredient gives the desired body to the composition. The graphite ingredient serves to give the composition the desired self -1ubricating qualities and the condensation product serves as a binder.

A composition consisting of the following percentages by weight of these respective ingredients has been found to be very satisfactory in practice.

, Percent Asbestos 60 Graphite 20 Condensation product (Bakelite) 20 A simple method of forming the guide shoe 8 is to prepare an intimate mix consisting of the above proportions of the ingredients in finely divided or powdered form, and then to place this mix in a mold of the proper shape and to either cold or preferably hot mold the mix with the application of suitable pressure. The guide shoe thus produced is found to be very rigid and strong and possesses the desired self-lubricating qualities for the use intended. The presence of the uniformly dispersed graphite throughout the body of the guide shoe serves, in conjunction with the other ingredients, to cause the shoe to have an extremely low coefficient of friction, so that the same will slide readily and easily within the guide groove of a threshold plate and with the exertion of but a minimum of tractive effort.

It is desired to point out that in practice it has been found that the percentages of the several ingredients making up the composition of the guide shoes may be varied within reasonable limits nor is it essential that the specific ingredients listed alone shall be used. For example, instead of using 60% asbestos in the above recited composition, it has been found that the percentage of asbestos may be reduced to 30% and 30% feldspar added in lieu of the remaining portion of asbestos.

Each of the guide shoes 8 has a prismatic body portion Ii of rectangular cross-section. The guide shoe is formed with a thickened end or head portion which is substantially twice the thickness of its body portion In. This head portion is provided with a vertical, circular aperture I2 for receiving a screw 9. The guide shoe 8 is of sufficient height to enable the same to project into a guide groove 4 for the greater portion of the depth of this groove.

The body portions II) of each pair of guide shoes forming a door guide are arranged in opposition to each other and have spring means interposed therebetween for urging these body portions outwardly into engagement with the sides or guide bars I of the elevator threshold plate guide groove 4. This spring means is illustrated in Figs. 2 and 4 as consisting of a pair of helical, conical springs 13. One of these springs 13 is illustrated as set within a circular depression I4 provided in one of the body portions It, The frictional engagement of the wall of the circular depression I4 upon the spring I3 serves'to retain this spring in proper position within the depression. The other of the springs i3 is illustrated as positioned within the depression I4 provided in the body portion ID of the cooperating guide shoe The compressive force of the springs 53 act to urge the guide shoes outwardly, as especially shown in Fig. 4, so that these guide shoes snugly engage the sides of the threshold plate guide groove 4 and thereby serve to firmly hold the bottom of the door, so that the same will not rattle or move transversely with respect to the guide groove 4.

Owing to the action of the springs I3 in tending to move the guide shoes outwardly and away from one another, these shoes automatically adjust themselves to any width of guide grooves 4 and always engage the sides of the guide groove, thereby preventing rattling or vibration of the door. Owing to the low coefficient of friction of the guide shoes 8, these shoes slide along within the guide groove 4 in use without appreciable friction and with the application of a minimum of tractive effort upon the door. Any wear taking place at the sides of the guide groove 4 or on the guide shoes 8, is automatically compensated for by the expansive action of springs I3 which immediately act to take up this wear as it forms, so that the bottom of the door is therefore always firmly positioned with respect to the guide groove i and is not allowed to rattle.

It will be apparent that the guide shoes may have various shapes other than that shown in Figs. 1 to 4 of the drawings, and that any suitable expansive means may be used in lieu of springs 23 for urging the guide shoes outwardly into engagement with the sides of the guide grooves 4. Thus, in Figs. 5 to 7 a slightly modified form of guide shoe 8' is shown. The head portion of each of the guide shoes 8 has the lower half thereof cut away and its body portion I0 is formed with a lower end projection 56 which is of the same shape as the cut out portion of the guide shoe head. Projection it of one guide shoe is adapted to project into the cut away part of the head of the cooperating or opposed guide shoe 8. Thus, the lower end projection E5 of each guide shoe underlies the head portion of its opposed and cooperating guide shoe as especially shown in Fig. 7. The head portions of these guide shoes are provided with vertical circular apertures I2 for receiving the screws 9. The offset lower end projections iii are provided with vertical apertures I8 which have the form of transverse slots to permit transverse movement of the end projection with respect to the screws 9.

As especially shown in Fig. '7, the screws 9 are adapted to extend through apertures i8 and I2 and into the bottom of the door 3. Leaf springs Iii are illustrated as employed for urging the body portions IQ of the guide shoes away from one another and toward the sides of the guide groove 4. It will be apparent that the coil swings of Fig. 4 may be used in lieu of the leaf springs I9, if desired, or an entirely different material such as a block of rubber may be employed for urging these guide shoes outwardly. It will be noted that the use of the lower end projections i 5, in effect, increases the effective area of contact between the guide shoes and the sides of the guide groove *3.

In use, it has been found that the novel door guides have an extremely long life and positively prevent any noise of the car or hatchway doors. The said door guides being of non-metallic material also eliminate wear of the threshold plate guides. It will be apparent thatthe novel door guide of this invention may be used for guiding any type of sliding door, such as sliding fire doors and the like, and will act to positively prevent any rattling or other vibrational noise of the door, and it is therefore not intended to limit the invention to use on elevator doors per se.

Preferably the screw apertures I2 and I2 in the guide shoes 8 are of suflicient diameter so that the screws 9 may have a slightly loose fit within these apertures I2 and I2 and will enable the head end portions of the guide shoes to move transversely slightly to thereby increase the extent of engagement between theguide shoes and the sides of the guide grooves 4 under the action of springs E3 or iii. In some instances as where the guide grooves 4 are of appreciably greater width than the width of the guide shoes themselves, the apertures I? may be transversely enlarged slightly in somewhat the same manner as apertures 18 are enlarged. In this way the guide shoes will be expanded by the springs I3 and 19 so as to engage the sides of the guide grooves along a considerable length of the guide shoes, regardless of the width of the guide groove.

It is desirable to point out that the expansible feature of the guide of the present invention is considered very important because it is this feature which causes the same to always fit the guide groove, regardless of wear of either the guide or guide groove. It is apparent that this expansible feature may be obtained in ways other than those illustrated in Figs. 1 to 7 of the drawings. Thus, in Fig. 8 a modified form of expansible guide is shown. In this form of the invention, the guide shoe 2! has apertures 22 in its ends for attaching the same to the elevator door. A relatively movable and dissimilar guide shoe 23 is carried by guide shoe 22 and is urged outwardly away from guide shoe 22 by means of springs 24 interposed between these guide shoes. overhanging end portions 25 formed on the guide shoe 23 are adapted to ride in suitable receiving and supporting recesses 26 provided in the guide shoe 29. In use, the expansive action of springs 2 t urges the guide shoes into. engagement with the guide slot in the threshold plate.

It will be apparent that the novel guides of the present invention may be made of wood, metal or other materials, if desired, although the novel self lubricating composition of this invention is preferable. These guides may be used for various purposes other than for guiding sliding doors. They may be used wherever one member slides with respect to another and a guide is used for guiding the relative motion. Thus, these guides may be used in double-hung windows, for example, such as in metal windows for guiding the sash.

As many changes could be made in the above construction and many apparently widely difierent embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What is claimed is:

1. In a guide for attachment to a sliding door comprising, a guide shoe member having a recessed intermediate portion and end portions arranged to be secured to the door, a cooperative guide shoe member disposed within said recessed intermediate portion and movable outwardly thereof, and spring means positioned within said recessed intermediate portion and interposed between said guide shoe members for urging the same with equal pressures away from each other for cooperating with a guide groove.

2. In a guide for attachment to a sliding door comprising, a guide shoe having a narrow body door issupported from the top for horizontal sliding movement and in which means are arranged in the sill beneath the door to provide a channel extending in the direction of movement of the door, a guide for operation in said channel to guide the door at the bottom, said I guide comprising a non-metallic guide shoe member, a supporting member for said guide shoe member secured to the bottom of the door and extending downwardly into said channel, said supporting member being of a width less than that of said channel, and resilient means for moving said guide shoe member outwardly into engagement with one side of said channel.

4. In an elevator door assembly in which the door is supported from the top for horizontal sliding movement and in which means are arranged in the sill beneath the door to provide a channel extending in the direction of movement of the door, a guide for operation in said channel to guide the door at the bottom, said guide comprising a supporting member secured to the bottom of the door and extending downwardly into said channel, said supporting member being of a width less than that of said channel, a nonmetallic guide shoe means associated with said supporting member, .and resilient means for moving said guide shoe means to engage said sill within said channel.

. RALPH L. HENRY. 

